R360/History

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Background

During the mid 1980s, Sega continued its established pattern of developing and releasing new coin-operated game concepts with revolutionary features, seen early on with the electro-mechanical Periscope's fresh use of quarters. Though its innovation had generally came from introducing new cabinet design aspects to heighten player enjoyment during the 1960s and 70s, the popularisation of video games allowed the company greater freedom in taking on and establishing concepts during the 80s.

This was seen most significantly in games like Hang-On, which received success and credibility as a result of the innovations in its then-nascent racing genre and graphical advances on previous releases. A secondary part of the success came from their design innovations, carrying through from Sega's older output. In the case of Hang-On in particular, the design of its full-size cabinet became the first full-body experience arcade game, with players able to tilt the bike model left and right for controlling the bike.

Sega and head Studio 128 developer Yu Suzuki noted its popularity, leading to games designed to use new seated pods powered by motion drivers such as Space Harrier and After Burner. These enjoyed further considerable popularity through their hydraulic motion largely dictated by the players controls and on-screen action, with the line soon becoming officially recognised under the Taikan and "Simulator Machine Series" titles; the former roughly translating to "experience" or "bodily sensation".

Prominently used as flagship, attention-grabbing centerpieces by many arcades, the successful taikan cabinet range led to influence and numerous subsequent imitations in the amusement industry. The likes of Taito and Namco notably followed Sega's lead with special versions of titles such as Metal Hawk and Chase H.Q.. The former company in particular notably built up its application of ideas garnered from the taikan boom to the next logical extension, a full-size, high-technology theme park simulation attraction, Galaxian 3, first deployed in 1990. While Sega would eventually also create similar large-scale projects in its rivalry with these corporations as part of the Amusement Theme Park concept, smaller manufacturers also started to partake in creating taikan cabinets. In some cases, existing games were even bootlegged by a number of firms for custom cabinets, in spite of their complexities.

Development

The beginnings of the R360 can be traced back to a bootlegged taikan cabinet of After Burner made by an unknown manufacturer. The machine appeared on location test in the summer of 1989 at an arcade in Perth, Australia, and word soon spread of its existence. Upon learning of the situation, veteran R&D director Hisashi Suzuki instructed prolific taikan cabinet designer Masaki Matsuno and overseas business department personnel to inspect the machine on a trip to Australia, as nobody at Sega had yet seen the cabinet itself.

When there, Matsuno discovered that the cabinet unusually used three axes of movement, X (horizontal), Y (vertical), and Z (depth). Though the design interested him, testing of the cabinet revealed that its movement was slow and restrictive, as well as making use of insufficient safety measures; this motivated Matsuno to significantly better the design, thereby creating its next advancement in amusement equipment. His assessment of the machine was reported back to Sega, and ideas to improve its concept saw support.

Development officially began on the R360 with the formation of a new dedicated production team of five engineers, who would later become a part of Sega AM4. Led by Matsuno and consisting of a fresh workforce in their early 20s, including relative newcomer Masao Yoshimoto, some senior employees disapproved of the lack of experience between the team, despite showing immediate commitment to their work by creating matching development uniforms. The team first conducted experiments in understanding motion by modifying and riding an unused large cable drum found on the roof of Sega's annex offices.

Following these experiments, inspiration was taken from earlier manually-driven gyroscope devices, such as the Aerotrim. Unlike it and the machine in Australia, the decision was made to use two axis of movement, X and Y, and the first manual R360 prototype was produced. A new electric model was made soon after, consisting of a motor attached to a steel pipe frame of 100mm length, 50mm width, and 2.3mm thickness; these were tested by Hisashi and Yu Suzuki. The complexity of perfecting the design was unprecedented; Yoshimoto states that many difficulties were faced in ensuring cracks would not form in the frame.

The team overcame challenges of providing electronic signals to early cockpit designs by making use of high-grade platinum slip rings and drive motors. Though expensive, these ensured that power, video, and X/Y axis controls were sent efficiently, although due to the quality of CRT monitors, some color unevenness would occur from the motion. As the design took shape, mock-up 'FORBIT' models were made to illustrate its appearance, as well as further prototypes assembled at Sega's Yaguchi arcade manufacturing offices.

Development staff would pay meticulous attention to safety design, adding a unique player harness, control tower, and numerous sensors. After new Sega R&D 8 release G-LOC: Air Battle was chosen to be adapted for the R360, the importance of these measures was highlighted by a late night incident, in which a programmer (recalled by Hiroshi Kawaguchi to be R&D 8 member Masahiko Kobayashi) was stuck upside down in the simulator for several hours whilst debugging alone, before eventually being safely freed.

Release

Hi-Tech Land Sega Shibuya

With its adapted version of G-LOC: Air Battle, the R360 made its public debut, first appearing in a highly-publicised press event held by Sega at Haneda Tokyu Hotel, Shibuya, on July 3, 1990. The conference was presented by amusement directors Hisashi Suzuki, Akira Nagai, and Takenori Ogata. After an initial location test elsewhere in Shibuya at the area's Hi-Tech Land Sega, the R360 was manufactured by Sega in limited numbers for Japan and given a domestic release. It first appeared exclusively at other amusement facilities directly managed by the company, including O2 Park Sega World and Sega World Tokyo Roof.

The first two units to be sold outside of Sega's own locations were placed at the Carnival game center, located in the former Big Egg City, Tokyo, during December 1990. Following this, the R360 made further appearances at other venues in Japan, and briefly became a part of the En-Joint concept alongside other early mid-size attractions such as Cyber Dome, where it was classed officially under the "Hi-Entertainment Game Series" moniker. True to its brief status as a ride instead of a video game machine, Sega intended to release laser disc ride films for the cabinet soon after its release, though these would never materialise.

In part due to its release outside of Sega locations in late 1990, strong consumer interest was sustained in the R360. Sega responded by briefly toying with an adapted version of Rad Mobile for the cabinet. This made a select few appearances in Japan, with one event showcase at AOU Show 1991 and another location test at the Hi-Tech Land Sega in Shibuya before disappearing without a wider release. It is suspected that it failed its location test stage. The system's high cost (estimated at ¥18,000,000) and attendant operational burden reportedly displeased some buyers; nonetheless, foreign demand from overseas operators for the eye-catching machine was such that Sega decided to allocate R360 units for a worldwide release in 1991.

'Flight Deck' floor of SegaWorld London

After appearances in late 1990 editions of Sega Visions, a showcase at ATEI 1991 in January 1991 and a live demo on UK TV show Tomorrow's World, early adopters included the Funland amusement arcade in the London Trocadero. Further R360s were shipped out to western territories with the advent of Sega expanding their amusement operations; notable examples included twin setups at Sega VirtuaLand and Sega World Bournemouth. New installations would appear as late as 1996 for SegaWorld London.

Before support for the R360 was terminated by Sega, a final update allowing Wing War to be played by two duelling units was released in 1994. Although produced in similarly small quantities, unlike the Rad Mobile version this would ultimately appear mostly outside of Japan, with many of the original domestic setups now removed. Rumours also circulate which state that After Burner II and Strike Fighter may have been adjusted for use with the R360 in the latter part of its life, however these have never been officially verified.

Most R360 units were no longer operational by the early 2000s due to removals, maintenance issues, and the closures of their venues, with few surviving into the following decades.

Legacy

Though a commercial failure for Sega, the R360 was widely praised upon release for its technological and entertainment prowess, and has retrospectively came to be recognised as one of the company's creative high points. It has been described as the "ultimate experience machine", and can in some respects be seen among the peaks of Sega's arcade cabinet design efforts. The original "taikan" series of 2D super-scaler games ended shortly after the R360's release with Strike Fighter, and Masao Yoshimoto has stated that though he was proud of his work in developing the machine, itself the first major project he was significantly involved in at Sega, he eventually felt despondency from a belief that he had nothing left to create.

One of few known images of Michael Jackson's personal R360 in situ at Neverland Ranch.

Since its release, the R360's design has inspired numerous imitators. It has also been revisited by Sega twice for its special Joypolis theme park attractions, first in 1998 for Dennou Senki Virtual-On Special, and again in 2015 for Transformers Human Alliance Special. The cabinet was referenced in Segagaga, where a space shuttle device resembling it in the final shoot 'em up portions of the game is named the "R720". In 2005, the R720 parts of Segagaga were also compiled into a singular scaled-down mobile game, Segagaga R-720.

In some cases, the R360 is known to have encouraged future Sega developers to create similar advanced works. Tetsuya Mizuguchi credits his impression after an encounter with the machine as one of the main reasons for his 1990 job application to the company.

As part of negotiations for his appearance in Scramble Training, frequent Sega collaborator and fan Michael Jackson acquired a personal R360 as one of the larger pieces of his Neverland Ranch arcade, and is perhaps the system's most high-profile celebrity owner.

In 1993, the R360 was notably used in medical research by the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in London to help understand brain disorders affecting balance and coordination.

Archival status

A famously-abandoned R360 sits decaying in a rural Northern Ireland field.

Culminative estimates of the amount of R360s manufactured by Sega differ between sources. It has been claimed between 100 and 200 were made, and official counts have varied, with one internal source purporting that the true number is a "company secret". It is, however, widely presumed that the vast majority of these have been disposed of and/or broken irreparably; a notable example being a rediscovered unit abandoned in a Northern Ireland field. ROMs for the R360 versions of G-LOC and Wing War have been dumped and are playable in MAME.

Due to the popularity of the R360, fan interest and preservation has stayed consistent over time, and a small number of working installations have made their way into the hands of private collectors and newer public venues. In North America, the G-LOC: Air Battle version can currently be played at Galloping Ghost Arcade, Brookfield, Illinois; several units also remain with collectors, including publicised examples owned by Kevin Keinert in the US, and Craig Walker in the UK. Other public R360s can be found in operation at two seperate museum locations in Estonia.

Despite reportedly wanting to, Sega themselves do not officially hold an R360, and none are now thought to be located in Japan altogether.